Built in 1861 by Antonio and Caterina Gagliardo, the Italian Store served as a post office and social center for the community of Douglas Flat. A hand dug well next to the store supplied Douglas Flat with good fresh water and remains in good shape today. James Malespina purchased the store in 1885, and it remained in the family for several years. The building also housed a Wells Fargo office, with a safe and an armed guard protecting gold from the Table Mountain area and along Coyote Creek, including from mines such as the Ohio, Hitchcock, Southwestern, Texas, and Lone Star, some of them located directly behind the store. The guard was stationed at the rear of the building by a noticeable gun port, where, if anyone tried to break into the safe, he could thrust his shotgun through the port aligned with the safe and fire.